County ends 2012 with below-normal rainfall

A pedestrian walks in the rain in downtown Hendersonville on New Years Day.

Patrick Sullivan/Times-News

By Leigh KelleyTimes-News Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, January 2, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, December 31, 2012 at 4:50 p.m.

Henderson County ended 2012 with 44.66 inches of rain, which was slightly below normal, but January precipitation expectations could signal improvement, a meteorologist said Monday.

Normal yearly rainfall for Henderson County is 45.47 inches, which means that the area's precipitation in 2012 was off by 0.81 inches, said Scott Krentz of the National Weather Service.

"That is pretty close to normal," he said. "Western North Carolina has had some recovery in the last couple of months. Right now, Henderson County/Buncombe County is classified as being in a DO category, according to the U.S. Drought Monitoring Center. Technically, we are in a drought, but just at the lower end of the categories they use to measure severity, so we're okay as we end the year."

Earlier in the year, Henderson County experienced a moderate drought which gradually became more severe in the summer months, Krentz explained. The area's drought situation was officially categorized as severe starting in July.

Severe drought conditions mean ground water tables are low, wells are in danger of drying up, river levels are low and reservoirs are below normal, Krentz said.

"This wasn't an extreme drought, but it was significant enough," he added. "This lasted maybe two months through September. In September, we had some rain that helped move us out of this drought category with some bands of rain from tropical storms that were moving up the East Coast."

Rainfall levels for Henderson County are expected to improve with the start of 2013, the meteorologist said.

The county was forecasted to receive at least a half inch of rain Monday night, with the area drying out after Tuesday, according to the NWS.

The normal amount of rainfall in Henderson County for January is 3.67 inches, although the area could get 4 inches, Krentz said. Precipitation in 2013 may also come in the form of snow, with January being the prime month for it, he said.

"That's generally the month we get it if we are going to get any," he said. "Average snowfall (for the area) is 10 inches per year, although we did not get any last year."

Krentz added that it would be unusual to have back-to-back winters with no snow, meaning that, statistically, residents in Henderson County can look forward to seeing the white stuff at some point during the winter.

"That's still very likely, more so in January than in December, because the cold air has an easier time coming out of Canada, and they've had several weeks of cold weather and those storms access that cold air and bring it down," he said.

However, there is no snow forecast for Henderson County over the next week due to warmer-than-normal temperatures and no precipitation after Tuesday, Krentz said.

Temperatures for the remainder of the week should be in the mid- to upper 40s for highs during the day, dropping into the upper 20s overnight.

<p>Henderson County ended 2012 with 44.66 inches of rain, which was slightly below normal, but January precipitation expectations could signal improvement, a meteorologist said Monday.</p><p>Normal yearly rainfall for Henderson County is 45.47 inches, which means that the area's precipitation in 2012 was off by 0.81 inches, said Scott Krentz of the National Weather Service. </p><p>"That is pretty close to normal," he said. "Western North Carolina has had some recovery in the last couple of months. Right now, Henderson County/Buncombe County is classified as being in a DO category, according to the U.S. Drought Monitoring Center. Technically, we are in a drought, but just at the lower end of the categories they use to measure severity, so we're okay as we end the year."</p><p>Earlier in the year, Henderson County experienced a moderate drought which gradually became more severe in the summer months, Krentz explained. The area's drought situation was officially categorized as severe starting in July. </p><p>Severe drought conditions mean ground water tables are low, wells are in danger of drying up, river levels are low and reservoirs are below normal, Krentz said. </p><p>"This wasn't an extreme drought, but it was significant enough," he added. "This lasted maybe two months through September. In September, we had some rain that helped move us out of this drought category with some bands of rain from tropical storms that were moving up the East Coast." </p><p>Rainfall levels for Henderson County are expected to improve with the start of 2013, the meteorologist said.</p><p>The county was forecasted to receive at least a half inch of rain Monday night, with the area drying out after Tuesday, according to the NWS.</p><p>The normal amount of rainfall in Henderson County for January is 3.67 inches, although the area could get 4 inches, Krentz said. Precipitation in 2013 may also come in the form of snow, with January being the prime month for it, he said.</p><p>"That's generally the month we get it if we are going to get any," he said. "Average snowfall (for the area) is 10 inches per year, although we did not get any last year."</p><p>Krentz added that it would be unusual to have back-to-back winters with no snow, meaning that, statistically, residents in Henderson County can look forward to seeing the white stuff at some point during the winter.</p><p>"That's still very likely, more so in January than in December, because the cold air has an easier time coming out of Canada, and they've had several weeks of cold weather and those storms access that cold air and bring it down," he said.</p><p>However, there is no snow forecast for Henderson County over the next week due to warmer-than-normal temperatures and no precipitation after Tuesday, Krentz said. </p><p>Temperatures for the remainder of the week should be in the mid- to upper 40s for highs during the day, dropping into the upper 20s overnight.</p><p>Reach Kelley at 828-694-7871 or leigh.kelley@blueridgenow.com</p>